Best Ever Zucchini Bread

This Best Ever Zucchini Bread recipe comes from my grandma, so naturally, there isn’t a better zucchini bread recipe out there.

This Best Ever Zucchini Bread is simple, delicious, and perfect for any occasion, in fact we bake it all year long.

This Best Ever Zucchini Bread is a family recipe. In my life the best ever type of recipes has come from one of two people, my Grandma Gillan or my Grandma Sorency. They make some of the best things I have ever tasted from this Best Ever Zucchini Bread {Gillan}, spaghetti & meatballs {Sorency}, peanut brittle {Gillan}, salad dressing {Sorency}, cinnamon rolls {Gillan}, mac & cheese {Gillan} and Santa Claus Cookies {Sorency}.

I am lucky to come from a line of bakers. And I am lucky that I grew up eating this Best Ever Zucchini Bread. This recipe is the entire reason I have planted like 8 zucchini plants every year. I am a bit sad that since we moved and my garden is significantly smaller, I will only be plating two this year but I am praying they’re plentiful.

If not I will be begging for some zucchini, as store-bought zucchini are just so dang small. Why is that? I love the large zucchini, they are just so beautiful. I love seeing a garden full of zucchini and pumpkins. Another reason I love fall.

But I am loving that it’s near summertime and soon I will have a plethora of zucchini in my garden and freezer resulting in this Best Ever Zucchini Bread all year long.

TIP – To get the best texture out of the zucchini I use a food processor instead of a grater. This seems to do the best when it comes to baking the bread. And when baking this bread not only do we love to add either chocolate chips or walnuts to this but also I prefer to bake in a 9×5 loaf pans. Either way, this is my grandma’s recipe and it is the best.

Blessed that I have both of my grandma’s still in my life, Grandma Gillan just turning 93 this year and Grandma Sorency celebrating her 80th birthday this month. I would love to hear what recipe your grandma makes in the comments below that you still love and bake to this day.

Oh my goodness. San brought over a loaf of this to my house and I HAD to visit the blog for the recipe. I may request this for my birthday cake next year, not kidding. I couldn’t even bring myself to save any for my husband! I don’t think I can ever look at baked goods the same way again.

I have been looking for a good zucchini bread recipe and this one looks incredible! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

Most bread makers have a quick bread setting. Combine the ingredients in a bowl like the recipe calls for. Spray the loaf pan on your bread maker and then pour in the blended batter. Use the quick bread setting to bake it. I make banana bread and zucchini bread like this all the time during the summer months. (It’s just too hot to turn on the oven!)

3 of the 8×4 you can use two, you might just have some leftover or really tall loaves, so you will need to adjust the baking time.
Brown sugar I haven’t tried, but you shouldn’t have a problem it may just change the texture and the flavor a bit.

I have never done that. It will probably change the texture and the flavor a bit, but I think it will turn out just fine.
The sweetness level will be the same, I think the texture would be the largest difference. If you try it – let me know how it goes.

I wil be making it this week. Just a little confused, do I need to squees the liquid, and if not would it not make your bread runny, the video shows parchment paper and here it says grease your loaf pan.

Is there a reason for the 3 extra tablespoons of flour to the batter? I was wondering if the 3 tablespoons is meant for for dusting the pans with instead? It is a good recipe, but if your using 9×5 size it makes 2 loaves instead of 3.

I just came in from exercise and checked my email. To my delight I saw this recipe, luckily I just picked some zucchini from my garden. I loved the fact that the recipe was so easy and that you added the ingredients as listed, that made it so much easier. There was no way one could miss an ingredient? Just came out of the oven yummy yummy! My husband and I had 2 large slices each on the patio with coffee. What a treat and the best part it was so easy to make… thanks so much

Hi Sandra! I’m very excited to try this recipe! I’m just wondering if you have to dry out the zucchini? I know for a few recipes I’ve looked at they’ve said it needs to be dried as it’ll come soggy?? Just wondering if that applies to this recipe. Thanks, Rachel

Then you said that you do yours in the food processor, do you use the shredding blade or the chopping blade? I have tried both ways in the past, but the choppin’ one, had to reduce the amount of zucchini in the recipe. I do wanna try this recipe though. Thanks for sharing it.

I use just the normal blade, not the shredding one – I found that the the shredding blade made it so watery – so I just use the normal blade that you typically use for everything. Hope this helps. Enjoy! XO San

I’ve never baked anything in my life but I have tons of zucchini in my garden so I decided to try this recipe. Wow! It really is the best ever! It was a huge hit with my family! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

I was thinking about your space to grow zucchini. Have you space to grow it in large patio container pots ? Space them around the perimeter of the house or in a grouping? Maybe put a hose with spaghetti tubes along it to irrigate with so it would be less effort?

I love this idea – but I have an update since that post – we did two container boxes this summer and I got my first zucchini!!! I was so excited. Several jalapenos and tomatoes as well. It’s a start. 🙂

I made it today and it’s so good! I also figured the carb factor fir any type 1 diabetics!! It’s 0.48. Weigh your slice of bread and multiply the weight ( grams) by 0.48 and you will know how many carbs in each peice! My granddaughter is type 1 so I always figure the carb factor!

Loved this recipe. I was looking for a version that highlighted the zucchini instead of burying it underneath a lot of spices. This had just the right touch of cinnamon. I used a large loaf pan, filled it 3/4 full, and let it back for about 80 minutes (checked with toothpick every 10 minutes after 50 minutes mark). It was great. Moist and simple. Not too sweet or heavy.

i have a batch of this in the oven…im concerned because the batter was sooo runny but being the first time i didnt want to add
extra flour but i would have added another cup. my zucchini was about 10-12 inches and about 3 inches across at thickest part and when i used my ninja (it shredded it perfectly) it didnt really get juicy like if you use a big zucchini. i just hope the bread
bakes up okay 🙁 first time i used a recipe off of pinterest and didnt want to futz with it much. will update when it comes out
of the oven.

This was delicious! I substituted one of the cup of sugar for applesauce to make it more kid “healthy” for the kiddo and it was still Awesome!! Thanks for the recipe. I great way to sneak in the veggies.

Can I use lard in this recipe rather than oil? And your mom uses grapenuts like the cereal? Love your recipes! And stories about your grandmas. You are blessed I lost my grandma last year she was my best friend.

I used canola oil. You could use vegetable oil as well. I haven’t made this with olive oil, although that would work I feel like it would just overpower the bread. But if you are used to cooking breads with it you might not feel that way. Enjoy! San

Hi, San — I’ve made several zucchini bread recipes over the past year but haven’t settled on a “go to” yet. This may just be the one! I’m particularly intrigued by the addition of GrapeNuts cereal in place of the nuts. I will have to try that. Our mom used to make a batter for bran muffins that was stored in the refrigerator. It had All Bran cereal, GrapeNuts and I can’t remember what all else. Made great muffins! I’ll probably be adding at least a few frozen blueberries to your grandmother’s bread. LOVE zucchini with blueberries! I followed this link from your ginger cooky recipe which is also getting made — SOON! I’m another “grandma’s girl” who treasures all the wonderful recipes. Thanks so much!

Oh I am so excited that you are trying both of the recipes – it won’t disappoint. Blueberries are great – just flour them a bit before so they all don’t sink 🙂 – also the bran muffins you are talking about – my sister and I had a roommate in college that made those all the time. I have contacted her for the recipe because I WANT IT SO BAD – so if you still have your recipe will you please email it to me and would love to feature it on my blog sandra at adashofsanity.com – I have a Bran Muffin Recipe https://dashofsanity.com/best-ever-bran-muffins/ that we love but my kids would love making on in the microwave and it would bring back the BEST memories. Hoping you have it!!!! Thanks for your email it made my day!

Just had to let you know I made the ginger cookies yesterday — 1/2 a batch (my cookie jar won’t hold more) and I made them totally by hand. Worked great. And they’re as wonderful as you said. Will most definitely be making again. (The zucchini bread is getting put together when I get home from church.) Thanks!

Well! I blew it, I have now figured that you can’t improve on perfection? I tried the one cup of applesauce and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Let’s put it this way it was edible. Will not do that again? Just thought I would try and cut out some of the sugar. I can safely say that it has not been eaten as quickly as the first loaves I made, infact it is still sitting in the fridge. Back to your recipe, although I did use one cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup brown and it was awesome.

I made another zucchini bread recipe today and forgot the baking powder so of course it was just a brick. And I finely grated my zucchini which made for a stringy texture. I’ll use the food processor next time. But my question is about measuring the zucchini. Do you press it down (like with brown sugar) or just scoop it? I’d love to try this!

I think that you would be fine either way as far as when you measure it. Just sounds like you possibly had a ton of moisture (water) from the zucchini. Also I just scoop it, I don’t press it down. Try the food processor or the thick, larger side of the shredder, I think this will solve the issue. Come back and let me know. San

I made it today and I baked it for 40 minutes and checked it. Well it was still very gooey, so I kept adding 10 more minutes to it, and still gooey. It probably bakrd for a good 1.5 hours. I don’t know what I did wrong :/.. any suggestions?

I have this in the oven as I type. I just read through all of the fabulous reviews and am so excited. I thought I’d take a sec to tell you how I tweaked it to fit our needs.
My kids do sessions at a youth ranch twice a month and my son’s chore the last session was to harvest the vegetable garden. One of the perks of being a harvester is that you get to keep what you pick. So, we took home 2 zucchini with the intention on making a batch of zucchini bread.
We have gluten issues in our family so I subbed a GF blend. (usually I make my own, but I had Trader Joe’s blend on hand, so I decided to give it a whirl)
Also, instead of canola oil I went for a healthier oil and used a blend of coconut oil and avocado oil.
The batter was amazing and the smells coming from my oven are divine. I’ll let you know the verdict! I’m so excited

I’m planning to make this tomorrow as I’ve just pulled 4 zukes from the garden. I do like to spiral them for a pasta replacement, but my hubby will be thrilled if I also make him a goodie! I too will be doing a bit of substituting, using a gluten free flour, and less sugar. Can applesauce be used as part of the oil? I would use a coconut/sunflower blend oil, maybe half with applesauce? Also is 4 cups of zuchinni the max? Thanks for sharing!

Some others have tried to the substitution of oil with applesauce, as well as less sugar and didn’t have as great as success. So if you have success with your substitutions come back and let us know. San

I am trying the zucchini bread now, but I have no nuts, so I added 2 tablespoons of shredded sweet coconut and a few drops of brandy… I like cooking with brandy…. When ya make a pecan pie, just add 1/2 a shooter of the brandy to the pie… It is very yummy.

A friend of mine made this and it was delicious. She did not follow the directions closely and it turned out a little too moist. However, we went on a trip and had to reheat it, so it ended up being perfect. I told her that lists of ingredients are made to be mixed in the order they are written…….so she pointed out to me that your video does not do so. Furthermore, you even stress the point of adding the ingredients in order, but video shows otherwise. Looking forward to making this tomorrow!!

This is the best zucchini bread ever. I agree with everyone. But tonight I was feeling creative, which can be dangerous. I added a cup of shredded carrots and one shredded apple. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. This is a beautiful confetti bread. And tastes amazing. Sometimes being creative pays off. I hope someone else tries it. I don’t think you will be disappointed. My best to all the cooks that live on the edge out there.

I don’t bake often, because I tend to take liberties and make substitutions when I cook and that usually doesn’t work out with baking. That being said, I made this today. As usually, I used what I have. It turned out the oil I have is peanut, so in it went. I could only find one laof pan although I thought I had several. I used a bundt pan. I was lucky today! It turned out amazing. I can’t wait to try it again as written! I love that the zucchini goes in the food processor!

Made this zucchini bread today exactly how you wrote it. It is so good! I had a big ole zucchini out of my garden. What a nice treat on a rainy day. I did share some with my husband…. grudgingly. We will have with coffee in the morning. Thank you!

Just made this today (made 2 medium sized loaves) – delicious. I added the extra 3 tbs of flour as the mix seemed very wet. Cakes turned out really well. I cooked them a bit longer (5-10 mins more than the recipe) as a skewer didn’t come out clean the first time. Next time I may squeeze out a bit of the courgette liquid first.

Also delighted to see that courgettes can be grated and then frozen – never frozen them before, so great tip, thanks. My one courgette (marrow!!) was so huge, that I made this recipe (4 cups grated courgette) and froze 3 more bags x 4 cups, so I can make it when the fresh ones are all used up !

I made this yesterday and it came out so well. I halved the recipe for 1 loaf, subbed the applesauce for oil and due to egg allergies subbed flax seed for 1 egg (1 T flax + 3 T water,, allow to set a few minutes to thicken). Now that I know how good this is I’ll make 2 loaves next time so I can freeze or share the 2nd loaf. Thank you for sharing!

Made this zucchini bread and made 2 batch’s 1 with gluten free King Arthur one on one flour and 1 with regular white flour. Both turned out perfect. I didn’t have a grater, so diced up zucchini and mixed by hand with a wooden spoon. This was a Hugh success as everyone including me loved it. Thank you for sharing.

I didn’t have my Zucchini measured out when I froze it so do I thaw it & then measure out 2 cups. I just took out what I thought looked like 2 cups & I have it sitting in a strainer thawing. Is this okay? I completely thaw it before adding it to the ingredients, correct? I peeled mine before freezing, does that matter?

Baked this yesterday with few changes; substitute white sugar with coconut sugar, add bit of carrot, and squeezed out a bit of liquid from shredded zucchini/carrot (fear of too much liquid will make the bread too dense). . Oh and I sprinkled some cashew nuts on top.. I love zucchini and I love this yummy & easy recipe. Thank you for sharing..
ps..how do I include a picture ?

Those sound like delicious adjustments! We also squeeze out the zucchini before mixing it, I’ll be sure to add that to the directions. The commenting system currently doesn’t allow for pictures but I’ll pass along the idea to add that option. Thank you so much for sharing!

Hi Jennifer! We usually use 2 10×5 pans for this recipe. If you use 2 5×12 pans, check the doneness around 30 minutes with a toothpick and add any time as needed. If you just use 1 pan for the entire recipe it will take a little longer to bake than the recipe says. In that case I would check around 50 minutes and give it more time as needed. No need to adjust the temperature! Let us know how it turns out.

[…] While I love ginger snaps, nothing in my eyes will ever beat my GRANDMA’S GINGER COOKIES. They are so soft and chewy, yet have a crispy outer crust. I made these with my mom and siblings every year growing up over the holiday season. Scratch that, we made them at least a dozen times every Christmas. They were the most requested item in our goody bag to our family and friends, well these cookies and my grandma’s BEST EVER ZUCCHINI BREAD. […]